


Trust

by prairienitro



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: BDSM, F/M, Light BDSM, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-03-20 18:05:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prairienitro/pseuds/prairienitro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one-shots based off of my mage Trevelyan Inquisitor and Iron Bull. Originially posted to my tumblr (randomnotebookstories).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Tug of Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> A bunch of one-shots I've originally posted to tumblr about Iron Bull and a female mage Trevelyan Inquisitor.  
> \---  
> This first story is in response to a prompt that was originally posted by mydadisindianajones on tumblr (http://mydadisindianajones.tumblr.com/post/108599844441/writing-prompt-its-been-a-year-since-the-breach).

Tori could feel the sun warming her bare flesh as the morning started to begin. Her golden curls were wrapped into a messy bun, and her brilliant blue eyes flittered slowly open. The first thing she realized –as she did every morning – was Iron Bull’s strong arms around her body, holding her to his chest as he slept.

They made an odd pair, the qunari spy and the mage Trevelyan, but it was as though their hearts were made for one another. And Tori had never felt safer than when she was wrapped up in his arms. Yes, she had defeated Corypheus and the red Templars, led an Inquisition, and changed the courses of many nations in Thedas, but after growing up in a Circle where her parents never visited, or where her brothers and sister in the Templar Order ignored her, it was nice to have someone love her and watch out for her. Someone who knew the full story of each of her scars she got from the Circle. But the only one that everyone saw every day, the long and curved line that ran from the back of her elbow to the front of her wrist, was the one that Tori knew caused Bull’s blood to boil.

The sun was slowly rising as Tori lay there, and she knew that she had to get up soon. But that also meant pulling away from the warm embrace, which usually resulted in her never being able to leave the bed. With a regretful sigh, she decided to skip all of her usual tactics of getting out of Bull’s grasp and going to the last measure. She placed a hand on his arm, and focused on chilling his arm, causing the muscle beneath to shiver and spasm slightly.

“Damn, woman,” he grumbled as he slid his arm away from her. “Couldn’t you have asked?”

“I tried that last week when I had an early meeting,” Tori reminded as she slid off of the bed and began to pull on her clothes. “And, as I recall, you ended up making me very, very late.”

“You enjoyed every minute of being late, and I know what noises you make when you’re pretending,” Bull smirked as he reached out to grab Tori by the waist, but she slipped past him shaking her head at him. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll make your morning all the better.”

“Nice try, Bull,” Tori chuckled as she picked up her staff from where she laid it on the couch. “But I only have to do this one meeting today, and then I can be yours for the rest of the day.”

She watched as Bull raised an eyebrow at her, and a wicked grin crossed his expression. “Anything I want?”

“It’s not like you don’t whatever you want from me to start with, you big lug,” Tori smirked as she turned to go down the steps. “But you do have to go, you know, do Chargers stuff for a little while. You did promise them.”

“Fine, but after that, you’re mine, Kadan.”

Tori slung her staff over her back, and made her way down the stairs to the second set, where Cullen was walking up there. “Inquisitor, I’m glad you’re on your way.”

“Cullen, honestly, will you ever call me ‘Tori’?” she asked as she fell into step beside him. “Did Vivienne actually attend for the meeting this time?”

“Divine Victoria has sent her regards, but has apologized that she couldn’t spare a moment to grace us with her presence,” Cullen replied, his voice flat as he told her what the messenger told him.

Tori and her advisors were exhausted trying to get the newly named Divine to visit the Inquisition officially, but every request was sent with a message from Vivienne stating how she regretted not being able to make it by the allotted time frame given. The Inquisition hadn’t placed weight into who would be named the next divine, but it was well know that they had expected either Leliana or Cassandra to be chosen.

When they had found out that it was Vivienne, Tori had spent a few days of yelling at any of her friends who would listen about how all the work they did to help change the chantry was going to be for naught. At one point, she swore that she was going to move to Tevinter or somewhere so far to the North that no one would be able to find her.

But her advisors had brought to her the idea that she could open up her own Circle. The Inquisition had a force that could train the mages, Templars that were trained and able to watch over them, and all the while, they could continue to live freely within the Inquisition. “I was hoping she’d have come to tell me about the request on opening a Circle. Do you believe that’s why she sent her messenger?”

“She sent her messenger with an envoy, just as she’s done before,” Cullen remarked as he reached to open the door for Tori. “I don’t see why Vivienne would change now.”

As Tori stepped out into the main hall and toward her throne, she smiled at the small group of Templars before her. “Welcome, and I apologize for keeping you waiting,” she greeted as she placed her staff next to her throne, then walked down the steps to stand next to her advisors and in front of Templars. Some she knew – one was even family. Not for a moment, though, did Tori drop her authoritative figure. In this room, she was the Inquisitor. “You have a message for me from the Divine?”

A templar – her cousin, Knight-Captain Tristan – step forward and handed her a folded parchment, the wax seal having been broken. “This was sent to us at the Circle in Ostwick, your worship,” he explained, a slight sneer forming when he used her respected title. “It was asked that we allow you to read it before we further our conversations.”

Tori glanced to her advisors, but the look they shared was affirmation enough that none of them knew about the letter. So, with delicate fingers, she unfolded the letter and read the passage aloud. “Greeting, Knight-Commander Emeline. As you are well aware, the Chantry has decided that any mage not within a Circle are being branded as an apostate, and those who have left a Circle must return to their former Circle, or face being branded, as well.

“No mage shall be held to a different standard, no matter what their status is. With this in mind, I am charging your Circle with the return of Inquisitor Victoria Margery Trevelyan to her previous Circle – the one that you and your Templars are in charge with the care of.

“I will be visiting the Ostwick Circle within a fortnight, giving you plenty of time to have the Lady Trevelyan back in her rightful place, just as any mage belongs within its proper circle. Signed, Divine Vitoria of the Sunburst Throne.”

The main hall was quite for a moment, and Tori’s hand began to shake as she held the paper. She could see Josephine take a step back as Leliana took a slight step closer to the Inquisitor, while Cullen began to pull his sword an inch from its sheath. I am not going back, her mind repeated, a subconscious tingle running along the scar on her arm.

Her hands crumbled the paper, and Tori through the paper to the side. Deep within, her mind reminded her that, in this room, she wasn’t a mage within a Circle. She wasn’t someone who didn’t understand the powers of magic. In this room, she was the Inquisitor, and if Vivienne wanted her to return to a circle, she was going to have to drag her from Skyhold herself.

“Tristan,” Tori stated, addressing her cousin as she took a step back up toward her throne, holding herself higher and feeling the authority that was bestowed upon her as the Inquisitor. “As family, I am giving you and your fellow Templars a chance to leave Skyhold immediately. You’re to return to Ostwick with only the word that if the Divine bitch wants to see me in a circle, then she can find me in the training ring her at Skyhold.”

“We have orders, cousin,” Tristan countered as he took a step closer, drawing his sword in a match of Cullen’s stance. “And you are a mage, and all mages belong in a Circle.”

“But not this one,” she snorted, glancing towards Cullen and giving him a slight nod.

Cullen ordered his soldiers, who had stood about the room, to draw their swords as two others ran to the barracks to pull the rest of the forces. Tori didn’t have to move an inch from where she stood as she watched the Inquisition’s forces move into the main hall, quickly out-numbering the Templars. A door slammed open, and she saw Iron Bull come up and stand next to Cullen, rage filling the Qunari’s eye.

Tori and Tristan held eye contact for a few moments, both challenging the other to stand down. By that point, she was well aware that Tristan had been using whatever power he could to remove any and all of her powers, but Tori knew that she couldn’t back down. And Tristan knew he wouldn’t live if he were to take a single step closer to her.

“You have a decision to make, Knight-Captain,” Tori hissed, her voice remaining strong as her body felt weak. “You can either escort your main from Skyhold immediately, or raise your blade and attempt to defeat the entire might of the Inquisition. No matter what you may be able to do as a Templar to me, not one of my loyal soldiers will yield to your sword.”

With a groan of anger, Tristan sheathed his sword, and his men followed in suit, but the Inquisition remand at the ready. “You will be hearing from the Templars again, cousin,” Tristan growled, as he started to turn his back on her. “And you will be sure that the Divine will hear about what has happened here on this day.”

“I look forward to speaking with her,” Tori replied, her voice hard and unyielding. “Commander Cullen, would you be so kind to take a patrol and escort our guests out of the keep?”

“Yes, Inquisitor,” he stated, and moved to shove Tristan toward the door of the main hall.

One the last of the Ostwick Templars had left, the doors slammed shut, and Tori collapsed to her knees, her body suddenly very weak. Iron Bull was at her side in an instant, and she rested her head on his chest and Leliana barked orders at her agents while Josephine stood watching over the Inquisitor. When did she grab that dagger? Tori asked herself.

Iron Bull cupped her chin with his hand and tilted her face just enough so that he could look down upon her. “Are you alright?”

“They were draining my power,” she whispered, exhaustion pulling at her body. “It took all my strength to just stand there.”

“I should have killed them,” he growled, and Tori felt the rumble in his chest as his muscles tensed.

“Bull, please,” she whispered, her head falling back against his chest. “Not now. Please. Just keep me safe.”

Tori could care less if someone heard her wish, she knew Bull had heard. He slid his arm under her knees as the other gripped her back gently as he lifted her up. “Hey, Red! I’m taking the Boss back to rest.”

Leliana turned at the sound of her nickname being called, and made her way over to them, Josephine turning and taking the few steps over to join, as well. “I’ll let Cullen know that you are alright,” Leliana whispered as she nodded to Tori.

“And I will be writing a letter to Cassandra immediately,” Josephine added, taking a quick glance over her shoulder as though she had expected the woman to be there. “The Seekers must know what has happened, and she will want to return to Skyhold far sooner than she had planned.”

“Do… whatever you must,” Tori sighed as she closed her eyes. That was all that Iron Bull needed to decide to take her back to her quarters.

It didn’t feel long enough of a trip for Tori’s back to be laid gently on her bed, but opening her eyes, she saw the canopy of her bed above her, the heavy red velvet curtains pulled back to each post. Iron Bull gently pulled off each of her boots, followed by her socks, her trousers, and her shirt. He made sure to grab her satin nightgown that Tori loved so much, and quickly brought it back to slide over her weakened body.

“You don’t need to treat me as a breakable doll, Bull,” Tori sighed as he brought the sheet and then the comforter over her body.

“Let me, Kadan, Just this once.” Iron Bull went to shut the doors that led to the balcony, blocking out the noises of the fortress.

When he returned to her bedside, he took great care to draw each of the velvet curtains to her canopy closed before he kicked off his own boots and laid down in the bed beside her. Tori crawled back to lie in the space between his chest and his arm, feeling his powerful embrace hold her to him. “I should have stayed in bed with you this morning,” she whispered as her eyes began to fight for control to stay awake.

“You were the bravest, sexiest woman, standing there,” he commented, kissing the top of her head. “I’m pissed I missed it from the beginning.”

“Well, you know, I did call our newly named Divine a bitch,” Tori slurred, it slowly becoming harder to stay awake. “It’s nearly determined that this isn’t over.”

Bull chuckled as he pulled her so that she was comfortably laying with her head on his chest. “Sleep, Kadan. You need your rest. You did promise me that you’d be mine for the rest of the day.”

“I’m yours forever,” she whispered ever so softly before she let her eyes close fully one last time, sleep finally winning the battle.


	2. The Light in the Darkness

Golden curls were pinned so tightly to the back of the Inquisitor’s head that Tori had to fight the urge to start ripping them from her head. Luckily for her, she could finally have five minute to herself. The Empress was saved, Gaspard agreed to end the civil war, and Florianne was in chains.

Escaping to a balcony, Tori relished in the fresh air for the first time that night. She could still hear the voices of the people inside, but they were mostly background noises. This was her moment to enjoy what little of the night was left.

Or so she had believed.

"A mage!" she heard one of the women from inside exclaim, oblivious to the fact that Tori was just outside the doorway. "Honestly, even after all she had done, I still can’t believe that the Empress will align with a mage."

"She does have an odd fascination with them," a man agreed. "But the Inquisitor will be Orlais’s downfall. Just you watch."

"Mages can’t be trusted," the woman continued, a pinch of disgust in her voice. "And with her powers - lightning! - they should have made her a tranquil."

Tori’s blue eyes were darkened as the voices trailed off, no doubt finding some other area to gossip. And the mage began to shake where she stood, her knuckles turning white as she dug her freshly manicured nails into her palms, tearing at the skin and threatening to draw blood.

She pinched her eyes shut, feeling the hairs that weren’t captured by the pins beginning to rise as static rolled through her. Willing herself to calm down, Tori tried to push the memories out of her mind, the ones of the templars surrounding the small child and wondering if they should make the mage before them tranquil. Fear began to pound in her heart, and the more she tried to block out the feeling, the more she felt herself falling deeper and deeper.

"Boss." Iron Bull’s strong hand was placed gently on her shoulder, and Tori gasped as her eyes opened wide. "Easy," he whispered, lifting his hand off of her for a moment before resting it down on her arm again. "You’re safe."

Tori’s eyes flickered behind Bull, fearing a bunch of templars and chevaliers would be behind him, but she found themselves alone. “I’m not,” she whispered, fear clutching her as she pressed herself against the railing. “They… they don’t want me here… They’re going to-“

"Slow down, Sparks," Bull cooed, raising his other hand to gently lay on her other shoulder. He kept her at arms length, mostly so she wouldn’t feel trapped but also so he could look down at her. "I’ve got your back. But you have to tell me what’s going on."

Tori’s eyes met Bull’s, and she nodded slowly, feeling slightly safer knowing that he was blocking her from whatever danger was left in the building. “I overheard… The Orlesians… They don’t trust me… They think I should be made tranquil…”

Bull looked down at her, anger and sorrow filling his eyes and his lowered his one hand to trace the scar on her arm while the other smoothed down her back. “I ain’t gonna let any of them touch you. Neither will the Commander, Red, none of our guys. You’re perfectly safe.”

She knew it was true, but Tori still felt so small and unsafe, surrounded by unfamiliar walls and unseen faces. “I don’t feel like it.”

"Want to go back to Skyhold?"

A small nod answered Iron Bull’s question, and the Qunari wrapped his arm around the Lady Trevelyan and guided her through the Winter Palace, only stopping once by Cullen to tell him that it was time to leave. One look at Tori, and the Commander quickly agreed.

It wasn’t until the Inquisitor was back at Skyhold the following evening, pulling out the remainder of the pins from her hair and relishing the comfort of her breeches and button down blouse that she began to feel like herself.

“Want to talk about the other night?” Iron Bull asked from where he lounged on her couch, watching her settle back into her room. He hadn’t left Tori’s side once, and he had remained silent the entire time, just watching her.

She didn’t want to talk about her past, but the months she spent with Iron Bull, allowing him to slowly learn the horrors of her past: how her family treated her after finding out she was a mage, the templars at the Ostwick circle, her fellow mages when they found out she was related to a few of the templars. The talking did help, and it allowed someone to be able to see her as she truly was, not just the strong voice of the Inquisition. Around Iron Bull, she allowed herself to be weak.

"Tori," Bull’s voice stated, pulling her attention to him. "You need to talk." It was the tone he used when there was no way out of it. One way or another, Tori was going to tell him.   
Relinquishing control of herself, she went to sit next to Iron Bull, pulling her feet under herself as she sat on the couch.

"I was six when my powers came through," she started, but Iron Bull already knew this. In Tori’s mind, it made it easier to just start from the beginning. "It was little things: a spark of lightning here, a slippery floor there. But it took only two days for my parents to have the templars take me away.

"When I was eight, that’s when my powers basically erupted into their full form. I was so young, the templars feared it. I was a mage who hadn’t even become a grown woman and was throwing lightning around rooms, the ice staying relatively small for my age."

That’s when Tori focused on a loose string on the hem of her pants, completely ignoring the mark on her arm. “A templar was angry with the state I left my bed, the quilt wasn’t fully covering the sheets. My powers still weren’t fully in control yet, and when he rushed to grab me… I nearly killed him.

"Before I knew it, I was surrounded by other templars. One had struck my arm with a whip when I tried to hide behind the bed, leaving me with this lovely mark. The others were quick to dull my powers, but the fear was in their eyes when they saw their fallen comrade as two other templars dragged him away. They debated to make me tranquil before finally throwing me into a ‘private’ room, which is far closer in resemblance to our dungeons. If it wasn’t for my family’s name, I may have very well been turned tranquil right on the spot instead of being allowed the chance to learn to control my powers."

Bull stared down at Tori before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “That’s why you wanted to leave.” In reply, Tori nodded as she let her head rest against his shoulder, pulling herself closer to his chest. “Like I said, no one in the Inquisition’s gonna allow anyone to get close enough to even touch you, let alone hurt you like that.”

"I know that," she sighed, pulling the loose string off her pants and wrapping it around her finger. "But it’ll always be at the back of my mind."

Bull’s hand reached across his body and wrapped around Tori’s smaller one, seizing her focus on the string as he unwrapped his arm from her body and tilted her face to look at him, not letting go of her chin. “It’s my job to watch your back, Sparks. To make you feel safe. And I’ll prove it to you that, as long as I’m around, you’re mine.”

Tori smiled, tilting her head slightly to brush her lips against Iron Bull’s hand. “I know,” she sighed as she kissed his hand.

"I’ll fix you," Bull stated as he rubbed a finger along her cheek. "I’ll take away whatever they did, if you’d like. Might take time-"

"We have plenty of it," Tori laughed gently, cutting him off. "I’m only trying to defeat an ancient darkspawn and his dragon."

Iron Bull chuckled in reply as he pulled Tori onto his lap. “See? Already looking at the bright side!”

Tori shook her head, the muscles on her face relaxing and finally starting to look like the happy woman she had blossomed into the past few months. Iron Bull did that, pulling her out of the darkness that had always clouded the back of her mind. She might not have noticed, but every day, little by little, the torture and nightmares she had in the circles were beginning to fade into the darkness, and her life was beginning to finally see the good in the world. Every moment, every time she saw the good, Tori would silently thank Iron Bull for every moment.


	3. The Boss's Boss (NSFW)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo NSFW! I can't even believe I wrote this. *hides in corner*

Rope burned her wrists, pulled taunt and tied to one of the legs of the desk in the Inquisitor’s room. A a cloth folded over and tied behind her head blocked out all the lights, while another folded cloth was pressed between her lips, knotting with the blindfold behind her. Blond hair was quickly braided, tied with a leather string between her shoulders. Her toes ached as they balanced her weight, her legs pulled as far as they could go before being tied off to other legs of the desk.

Tori could feel the cold wood of the desk under her stomach, her bare skin shivering whenever she tried to shift and she would feel a new piece of the cold desk against her skin. She couldn’t move more than an inch to the left or the right, her body stretched as far as it could go. It terrified her, everything about the it told her that she was in danger. And, yet, she burned for it, loved it, and wanted more.

When a rough, warm hand grasped her thigh tightly, fingers digging into the flesh, she jumped. Tori forgot where Iron Bull was, but his sudden touch quickly told her how close he was, and she relaxed under his hand as he kneaded her skin like it was dough. “Good girl,” he chuckled, and Tori groaned at his heavy praise.

His other hand had began kneading her other hip, his fingers pinching her skin every now and then. It was another lesson, a way to forget her past while dealing with the present. And it worked. Tori couldn’t figure out what it was exactly that he was doing to her, but whatever it was, she thanked the Maker for it.

His mouth enveloped her ear, biting and sucking on it before running his tongue over the ridge of her, sending shivers throughout her body. All the while, his right hand moved down her thigh and behind her, slowly bringing his fingers closer to her heat before pulling away to rub down to her knee, then back up her leg to get just a fraction closer. “Wait,” he stated, then he stopped touching her and stepped away.

Tori moaned with need, instantly missing his warm touch. For a touch. She strained against the ropes, knowing that, if she used her magic, she would be able to burn them right off with a small amount of electricity. But Tori knew the rules: no magic, and to do whatever Iron Bull told her to do. And, right now, she had to wait.

The noises of a bag opening and objects rattling around had her paying close attention, and she heard Iron Bull’s heavy footsteps as he came back to her. But he still wouldn’t touch Tori. She was shivering, not only from the cold, but from anticipation. Right when she was going to start crying through the fabric between her lips, she felt a sooth, wooden object rolling up her leg, slowing approaching her hot center.

Bull laid a heavy hand to the center of her back, holding her down and forcing her to be completely still, as he rubbed the object against her heat, hitting the bud of nerves and rolling over it repetitively. Bull’s hand made it so that Tori wouldn’t be able to use the inch the rope gave her to shift, controlling whatever pleasure she felt.

He leaned back forward and bit her ear again, pulling it with his teeth and causing Tori to squeak and moan. With a growl, he rolled his jaw and shifted his teeth on her ear while bringing the wooden object to her center, now wet with need, and slowly slid it in. Agonizingly slow.

With a final flick of his tongue against her ear, Bull stood and dragged the object almost all the way out of her before pushing it back in. He watched her squirm and shake, pushing the object even further into Tori then he had the first time. Tori thoughts were nearly completely gone from her mind, the only thing she could focus on was how full she felt and the feeling of Iron Bull’s hand slightly rolling the object within her.

Then it stopped moving, and Iron Bull stepped away, leaving the object buried within her. If Tori wasn’t tied down with most of her body laying on her desk, she was certain she would have collapsed to the floor. She pulled on her ankles, trying to see if the rope would allow her to move her legs enough to pleasure herself, but it denied her any movement.

“Tori, stop wiggling.” She wanted to move, wanted to be touched, but Bull’s demand froze her, all except for the tiny tremors that rolled over her skin.

Tori heard the pop of a jar being opened, then felt cool grease being spread between her asscheeks. She shivered, and that caused her to clench around the object within her. She was whimpering before she even felt one of Bull’s greased fingers gently press into her smaller hole. At that, she was breathless.

He slowly worked one of his fingers in and out of her, his other hand snaking around to the front of her legs to gently rub her bud of nerves between his fingers. Then she felt the second finger squeeze into her, and her breath caught in her throat. “Breathe,” Bull instructed, not moving either of his hands until he saw her take a deep breath in and release it.  
In reward, he moved his hand that was working her ass a little faster, a little harder, curling and stretching her wider. Tori thought she was going to have her orgasm right from his fingers in her. Never had he actually put anything into her ass, but he had teased her in the heated moments of passion. And when a third finger joined the ministration, she felt herself losing control of her body as the building orgasm ripped through her.

As she panted and came down from the high, she felt Bull remove his fingers from her ass and stop his movements on her bud, then he brought the object out of her, leaving her completely empty. Tori knew it wasn’t the end, though. Most nights, Bull would watch her wiggle and writhe beneath him countless times before finally giving a grand finale with his own cock. That was just a warm-up.

He pressed his body against Tori’s, and she could feel his need for her against her back while the object that had been in her hot center began to tease her ass. “You’re good for this?” he asked, giving her a chance to say no.  
It was part of their system: With every new thing, Iron Bull gave her the option to decline before they even started, and if, for any reason while they were going and she was tied and gaged, all she had to do was shock him. She only did it twice, not even enough to hurt him, closing resembling the shock she sometimes got after touching wool, but it was their code, and they stuck to it.

When Tori didn’t shake her head, Bull took that as permission and slowly pushed the object into her ass, his free hand going back between her legs and slowly rubbing her bud. Tori felt unbelievably full, and most of the object hadn’t been placed into her ass, like it had when it was within her hot center. It slid into her gently, only using some effort to fit. And once it was fully in her, Tori was panting heavily.

Just when she thought that she couldn’t take any more, she felt Bull line his cock up with her center before gently sliding himself into her. Normally, he was enough to fill her completely before he was even fully seated within her. With the object in her ass, Tori’s body shook with the abundance of new feelings.

Bull rolled his hips against Tori, nestling his entire length within her as she fought to hold back her next orgasm. He didn’t lean over her, like he usually did, but stood tall. While his one hand gripped her thigh tightly, his other slowly brought the object in her ass out, then pushed it back in, his cock never leaving her center.

Once he felt Tori relax around him, though, as he continued to penetrate her ass, he finally moved himself out of her almost completely before slamming back into her. That tipped her over the edge, and Bull rode her through her orgasm, not stopping even after she came back down, a third one on the edge of being built.

She could feel the object rub against Bull’s cock with every movement, and Tori’s toes curled into the rug. She was so close, and she could feel Bull starting to approach his end, just as the object in her ass lodged itself into her, holding itself fast.

Tori groaned, feeling Bull’s weight finally land on top of her as he wrapped his arms around her torso and he began to slam into her. The movement of his body rolling over the object in her ass as his cock reached deeper within her shot her over the edge. As she tightened and orgasmed again, she felt Bull slam twice more into her before releasing himself into her, filling her completely.

They laid there for a moment, Bull still buried deep within her, even after he removed the object from her ass and dropped it to the floor, catching their breaths. It always took Tori a little while to recovery fully, but Bull only needed a moment before he slid out of her and began to untie her arms, legs, and the clothes that wrapped her eyes shut and gagged her mouth.

He then carried her to the large bed and laid her down before gentle cleaning her off before himself. By the time he had finished and thrown one of the sheets over her body, she had fully recovered. “You good?”

Tori raised her eyebrows at Bull as a smile crept up her lips. “That was… probably the best surprise fuck ever,” she nearly giggled as Bull laid down next to her.

“Yeah, well, I thought you needed it after all the shouting you were doing at Cullen in the war room,” Bull chuckled as he pushed a piece of her hair out of her face. “Besides, you being the boss and all… It was about time you had a reminder you’re not always the boss.”

Tori sighed as she rolled over to lay her head on Iron Bull’s chest. “Sometimes, I like being reminded I’m not the boss.”

“Good, because you’re going to be reminded again tomorrow.”


	4. Scars

Haven was a beautiful place before the rift tore a hole into the sky, or so Tori thought as she sat perched on one of the rocks that surrounded the frozen lake. A fresh dusting of snow had just fallen the night before, and the Herald had no immediate duties to take care of. But that also meant that there was nothing to distract her.

Memories of the broken Circle she belonged to danced in front of her eyes, taking away the serenity of the lake. The burning memory of pain tore along the scar on her arm, and she absentmindedly ran her fingers delicately over it, as though she was sure she’d fine the wound still fresh. She could feel the hands against her neck, the screams of children ringing in her ears, a templar’s body - her brother’s - leaning against her shoulder after an exhausting fight.

Tori’s blue eyes shimmered from the tears that threatened to escape, but she had gotten very good at holding back any emotion. From hiding her true feelings. It’s part of why she had problems getting close to any of her fellow members of the Inquisition, even though they have all been nothing more than kind to her. Any trust that the Herald should of had, had been changed long before she had grown up into something far more dangerous: fear.

“Hey, Boss.”

Iron Bull’s deep voice startled Tori from her memories before she brushed her blonde curls to hide part of her face. “Hi,” she greeted quietly, keeping her eyes low. She hadn’t known the Qunari long, but what she did know only gave her more reason to hide herself. Already, she knew that Leliana had figured out the past she suffered, and Tori wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle someone else knowing that much about herself.

But no matter what she did, she knew that Bull was slowly putting the pieces together. He sat down on a rock near Tori and looked out at the lake in the same direction that she stared. “Take your time,” he simply said, settling himself in for what could be a long wait. “You’ll want to tell me. Eventually.”

Taking the risk, Tori moved her eyes to glance at Iron Bull, only to find that he was watching her out of the corner of his. “You know enough,” she whispered, nearly too quiet for herself to hear over the wind that blew across the lake.

“Yeah, I know,” he chuckled before his tone become far more serious. “But I’ve seen the way you’ve go around here. And whatever’s happen to you is going to make this party end before it’s even began. Now, you have an option: tell me what’s happened and start making friends who can trust you, or try to run this entire thing on your own.”

It may have made her angry, but Iron Bull had a point. If people couldn’t trust the supposed Herald of Andraste because she couldn’t trust anyone, how would anyone be able to join her cause? Tori’s only problem was the fear that held her back.

“I can’t talk about it,” she whispered sadly, her fingers still trailing the scar that wrapped around her left arm. “I… I don’t know how.”

“Then we start from the basics.” Bull pulled her arm free of Tori’s worrying fingers before he ran one finger from where the scar began at her wrist to where it ended at her elbow. “How’d you get this.”

Burning pain, fleshing being cut deep, the smell of something burning. The scar may have been created years ago, when she was only just a child, but just thinking of it made her feel as though it was yesterday. “I was twelve,” she began, her eyes watching Bull’s touch. “I had been in the Circle for three years by then, and my powers had suddenly flared. I was already showing signs of advanced lightning and ice abilities for someone my age. But… the lightning one day just became too hard to hold back.

“I hadn’t hurt anyone,” Tori rushed to add as she slightly began to shake, “but the templars at the Ostwick Circle thought I was acting out on purpose. One received a mild shock when he touched me, and they brought a whip out.”

Tears leaked out from behind Tori’s closed eyes. “The whip closed around my arm, tore the flesh instantly. But it didn’t release and the templar who held it pulled harder. They removed much of my powers, but they still didn’t let me go. My brother - Justin - put himself between me and the others. Somehow he convinced them to let release the whip from my arm, but they still locked me away. They thought I had become possessed, or far worse.

“That night, Justin came to my room. He was the only one in my family to still love me after it was discovered I was a mage. He had a blackened eye and a spit lip. Punishment for going against a order. But he still snuck into the chamber they locked me in to bandage my arm and to calm me down. It was the last time I saw him.”

It didn’t occur to her that Bull had stopped tracing the scar on her arm and moved to grasp her small hand in his. His other hand moved to grasp her chin. “You did good,” he cooed quietly, almost as though he was talking to a small animal.

He waited until Tori could catch her breath and look at him in the eye before he continued. “You know, Boss, no one here is going to do that. Not the Commander, not the Seeker, no one. They’re alright here.”

“I know,” she replied as she wiped the last tear of her cheek. “But there are still people out there who-”

“Don’t think about them,” he growled at her, forcing her to look at her again. “You’re the Boss. You make the rules. And you’re better than those shits who did this to you. The Inquisition is made up of people who are better than this. You just need to show them that you are.”

“And how do I do that?” she asked almost rhetorically. Tori never had the experience of being able to speak out, nor did she ever learn.

Iron Bull smiled and stood, taking Tori up with him. “You begin by making friends,” he chuckled gently, before nodding over to where Cullen was observing the training of the troops. “Ask questions, boring ones, if you want. Go ask him what the soldiers are practicing.”

“I’m assuming fighting,” Tori answered, trying to plant her feet into the ground before Bull gave her a slight shove forward.

“Just go ask him one question,” Bull sighed, giving her another slight push. “Show interest. He won’t bite. And I’ll be right here to back you up.”

She searched Bull’s face to see if he was lying to her, trying to manipulate her, but she found nothing. Nothing but honesty, which Tori had seen so little of. “If you promise to stay here,” she agreed, then took a deep breath and took a step forward toward Cullen. A step towards trying to get over her broken past.


	5. Trust

“Your idea of love is tying someone up?”

Tori nearly laughed at the idea as she continued to brush her grey gelding, listening to Iron Bull’s random chatter from the outside of the stall in Skyhold’s barn. Aside from some absent flirting, the two hadn’t gotten any further, but it had allowed Tori to open up to the people around her, to feel more comfortable in trusting others. “That’s not love. That’s… I don’t know, unhealthy.”

“It’s trust,” Bull grunted, rocking on his feet where he leaned against the post, facing the stall Tori was in. “Trusting the person to give you exactly what you want, even if you don’t know that you want it.”

The horse cleaned, Tori began to run her fingers through the mane, pulling some of the hairs out that were broken and making it healthier as she went. “Yeah, well, my idea of trusting people isn’t being tied down. Didn’t work so well in the Cirlce.”

Bull grunted, and she could see under the curtain of her blonde hair the expression on his face: a mix of anger and possession. Any time Tori brought up her last, she watched his mood change, could see how he wanted to hurt the people who caused her pain.

“It’s not like that,” he continued, moving to open the stall door and let Tori out of the stall. “The partner… The person I work with… They’re in charge. We set the terms beforehand, have safe words in place when someone is uncomfortable with something. Nothing touched that someone is uncomfortable with.”

Blue eyes drifted up to dark brown, and even though he stood like a tower before her, Tori never felt small standing next to him. “I don’t know, Bull,” she whispered, holding his gaze and ignoring the sparked feeling running along her scar on her arm, the one the templar whip had left. “I mean, after everything I went though in the Circle… I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever be comfortable with.”

Iron Bull’s strong hand drifted gentle up and into Tori’s hair, cradling her head but allowing the freedom for her to move away if she wanted to. Needed to. “We don’t have to,” he said in a voice that showed the entire truth, that he would never lie to her. “But, just so you know, I’m never going to let anyone else touch you.”

A smile drifted up on Tori’s lips, and she had to drop her gaze for a moment. “I know,” she whispered, resting her hand on Bull’s arm. “I trust you. Far more than I trust myself.”

The distinct rumble of approval in Iron Bull’s chest had Tori laughing as she took a step away. “I have to go do Inquisitor business,” she explained with a gesture toward the Main Hall. “Supposedly, I’m not nearly prepared for the way people in Orlais will receive me, and Josie wants to quit me.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” he nodded. “But I’m sure your ready for it.”

“If only I had as much confidence in myself as you have in me,” Tori replied before she turned and made her way toward the stairs and Josephine’s office. Every day, Iron Bull made her feel a little better, a little stronger. Something that she was never used to feeling before.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was a prompt piece given to me on tumblr. Had to use "Have you lost your mind?" in the story. And that's why it has no title.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“Not yet, but I’m almost there.” Tori picked up her hunting jacket and shrugged it on, glancing back at Iron Bull through the mirror. “Wait… no, I’m probably already there.”

The qunari behind her, in turn, mumbled something darkly under his breath, avoiding Tori’s glance as she braided her curls into a golden knot behind her head. When he found out that she wasn’t going to be taking him with her to the elven temple in the Arbor Wilds, he sulked but otherwise got over it. Now she was planning on leaving him behind again, and this time to face Corypheus.

“You’d rather take that Vint-”

“Bull,” Tori warned, turning to lay her icy eyes on him, but he ignored her and continued.

“And the dwarf and the Seeker with you, fine. But you’re going to get yourself killed.”

Tori held her gaze with his amber one, firm where she stood. And she knew that she was now leaving herself more vulnerable without taking him, but that was part of the chance. At least, with Iron Bull in Skyhold, she knew he’d be safe. “But you won’t.”

For the first time, Bull looked down at her and saw through the tight shell that Tori was so good at throwing up. He saw who she really was, and what was really running through her mind. “Kadan…” he whispered, crossing the room in two of his large strides before pulling her to his chest and running his hand slowly along her back.

“Don’t patronize me like I’m a child,” Tori snorted, but she didn’t try to move away from him. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. “But I can’t risk it, Bull. You saved me, taught me to trust again-”

Bull snorted, freezing Tori’s explanation. “If you’re worried some ancient Vint is going to kill me, then you’re making a poor bet.”

“That’s not funny, Bull!” This time, Tori did pull away, glaring at the man before her. “I am worried. And… Maker’s ass, I should be! You’re reckless at times, you make rash decisions. You nearly got killed by the blighted dragon of Corypheus at Adamant! And if you die and I were to live without you-”

Tori was fuming, but Bull was watching her cooly and calmly, which made her all the more angry. She picked up her hairbrush from her dresser and threw it at him, hitting him in the center of his chest. “Can you stop being so understanding and watchful for a single instant?” Her voice cracked a little, and her head hurt, but it made her all the more angry to just see Iron Bull studying her.

Without looking at her or even saying a word, Bull went over to where he had left his weapon strap by the couch and slipped it back on. “What are you doing?”

“Not giving you a choice,” Bull replied flatly. “I’m going with you whether you like it or not, because you will get yourself killed if I don’t.”

“I just told you that you’re not-”

“No.” Bull walked up to Tori and handed her the white staff she used, holding it tightly even after she grasped it. “You don’t get any other choice but deciding who’s staying back. Because I need to make sure you come back, because you will come back.”


	7. If This Is Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tori returns to Ostwick since she had been taken to the Circle.

She couldn’t remember the first time she had walked down the halls of the Ostwick home, but she could remember the last. It wasn’t something Tori could easily forget.

The rough leather gloves had bitten into her arms, her throat had grown hoarse from screaming. And, all the while, her mother and two sisters watched on in disgust as templars dragged the nine-year-old girl from their lives. Their perfect family line had been cursed with a mage.

When the letter had arrived from the Inquisitor’s brother, Justin - the only one who had cared for Tori after discovering she was a mage - and she knew that it had to be important. He rarely ever wrote, usually too caught up in matters of taking their father’s place as Bann after leaving the templars. And he had asked her to come home.

Tori wasn’t dressed as the noble woman that her family had hoped she would one day become, nor the mage that they expected her to be. Instead, Josephine had sent for the best fabrics to show off her status as the Inquisitor. Rich golds with blue accents that highlighted her eyes and their piercing color, while her hair - lighter than the uniform - curled between her shoulders.

Cassandra and Cullen walked in step behind her, dressed in their finest armor. It was a struggle for them to get Iron Bull to agree to remain behind at the front gate, but with all the threats Vivienne was still sending the Inquisition about Tori not returning to a Circle, everyone agreed it was best if she arrived with an armored guard.

The small elven maid that they had been fallowing paused outside of a large door, glancing over her shoulder at Tori while reaching for the ornate handle. “As promised, the Lady is alone in her chamber,” the maid whispered, “but there is a bell beside the bed should you need attention.”

“Thank you,” Tori answered with a soft nod. Then, with a final glance back at her two friends, she stepped into the room.

Heavy, dark purple curtains held back the light from the balcony door that overlooked the garden Tori used to play in with her older sisters. The only light in the room came from the candle on the bedside table, casting shadows on the weary figure in the bed. “Victoria…”

Her mother’s voice was rough and heavy, no longer the voice as smooth as silk but still had the bite of a mabari behind it. “Mother,” she whispered softly, takin the final steps to the side of the bed. “I’m shocked you wanted to see me.”

The woman in the bed may have looked weak, but there was strength in her eyes - the same icy color as Tori’s. “You are still my child,” she informed, shifting on the large pillows to prop herself into a more seated position. “No matter what may afflict you.”

“An affliction,” Tori chuckled, shaking her head and sitting down on the edge of the bed. “You’ll never admit that me being a mage isn’t some sickness that you could cure.” She didn’t even want to think of what her mother would say if only she could see past the gloves on her hands and the soft, green mark on her palm. “Why did you want to see me? Surely Marcella or Adria would have been of better company?”

“I will see them before my time on this earth is over,” her mother sighed, her hand reaching and resting on top of Tori’s. “But I want to make amends for our relationship.”

Tori furrowed her eyebrows, her gaze searching her mother’s face. There was a reason why her father had loved the woman, even though years had passed. She was beautiful, and her face was like a box that locked away any hint of true thoughts and emotions. “And what amends are you planning on making?”

With the hand that hadn’t wrapped itself into Tori’s grasp, the elderly woman pointed to an envelope on the table right beside the bell that would call the maid to their side. “A note for a friend of your late father’s,” her mother explained while Tori gazed at the note. “He had written to me stating that his son had interest in you. He would like to arrange an audience.”

“Why wouldn’t he have written the Inquisition, then?” Tori asked, glancing back to her mother. “I have an ambassador that deals with these sort of matters-”

“Because I had written to him originally.”

The Lady Trevelyan’s grip tightened on Tori’s hand. “I had made mistakes in abandoning you when you were so young. I should have made sure you’d be safe. The things James had told me…”

Tori could feel her mother’s eyes run along her arm, searching for a hint of the scar that branded her skin and gave her a daily reminder of the torture the Circle had been. The punishments the templars invoked.

“I want to make sure you’re well off once I am gone.”

Her mother’s final words brought Tori back into the present. Back into the candlelit room and her mother gently squeezing at her hand. “Shamus Harcourt would make a lovely husband for you. And his title would bring you recognition in the Free Marches-”

“As the Inquisitor, I have connections in the Free Marches, Mother,” Tori gasped as she stood, her mother still clutching her hand. “And someone already has a hold of my heart.”

“You cannot - will not - marry a Qunari, Victoria,” her mother grunted, disgust in her voice and a glare that could put Cassandra’s to shame. “Think of your title! Of your sisters and brother. I’m just trying to make sure you’re protected.”

“You had your chance to protected me, and you already failed at that,” Tori growled, pulling her had from her mother’s grasp. “And my title isn’t Lady Trevelyan, but Inquisitor Trevelyan. My love for Bull will not threaten my title, nor will it hurt yours, or James’s, or Marcella’s and Adria’s.”

Tori had already begun to head for the door when her mother grunted, “I thought you had overcome the pull of magic, that maybe it hadn’t twisted your mind. It appears I was wrong.”

With a final glare over her shoulder, Tori gently pulled the left glove off her hand and allowed the mark to glow on her hand, brightening the room in the green light. “You’re right about the magic changing who I am, Mother,” she answered, turning to the door. “It made me the better person.”

Tori’s hand was already on the door handle when the bell began to chime, but she didn’t bother to glance back or even acknowledge the maid as she brushed past her. She didn’t bother to make sure Cassandra and Cullen were following behind her as she walked down the large staircase and made toward the opening door to the courtyard.

Standing in the doorway, though, she knew she was left to make a decision: go back up the stairs and forget the Inquisition, becoming the person that her mother wanted her to be, or continue forward with people who loved her for who she was. And when her eyes laid on the easy nature of Bull as he chatted with two of her family’s guards, she dropped the glove she had removed from her hand, the only piece her family would be allowed to have of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr and AO3 stories on Tori are now up to date! That means that what is being posted on tumblr will also be posted here.


	8. Party's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tori gets a little tipsy.

Drunken laughter and music drifted about the courtyard of Skyhold early into the morning, many of the guests to the party not even having more than a few moments of rest since it began. It had been three days since Corypheus had been slain, and what Josephine had planned for a short celebration was quickly turning into a month long festival. But while many of the distant guests and dignitaries had yet to arrive, the members of the Inquisition hadn't stopped for a single moment, thankful to be alive.

The Inquisition's own leader snorted as the blonde mage doubled over in laughter, the effects of whatever had been constantly refilling Tori's glass hitting her hard. Just that evening, she had tried to freeze a piece of Dorian's mustache, had successfully ran her fingers through Cullen's hair, and had multiple arm wrestling competitions with Krem, all of which she lost and couldn't even fathom as to why. 

"Who was in charge of your glass, Mouse?" Varric asked after listening to Tori's attempt of a synopsis of one of his books, failing to even remember what Hawke's name was.

"No one," she replied back, her body swaying noticeably as she stared down at the elf. "The glass is his own person and doesn't need a guard to-" Her words were caught in her throat as she began laughing uncontrollably, collapsing to the floor and bringing her knees to her chest, the ridiculous comment never finished. 

She had been wearing a peach-colored tunic with dark green leggings, but in the dark tavern and with the amount of wrinkles and dirt, Tori Trevelyan looked less of the important status of Inquisitor and more like a poor elf from an alienage. "Alright, Mouse," Varric sighed, casting a glance over his should. "Tiny!"

Anything but "tiny," Iron Bull turned from his conversation that he was having with some of his Chargers, grinning slightly when his eyes fell onto the mess Tori was. "She finally let herself go," he commented as he made his way over to them. 

"I think it might be a good idea for her to call it a night," Varric observed, gesturing at Tori as she attempted to stand up, but slipped and ended up giggling even more. "Before she does something she regrets."

"I got her," Bull replied, bending down and scooping Tori up and over his shoulder. "Alright, Boss. You're done for the night."

It took the poor woman a moment to remember what 'done' entailed, and Tori was carried almost all the way back to the steps to the main hall when she realized what was happening. "Put me down!" she demanded, nudging Bull in the ribs with her bare foot, the boot having been won by Sera at some point in the night. "I am not some child who needs to be escorted to bed! I can decide that whenever I please!"

"No, you really can't right now," Iron Bull chuckled, shifting Tori's weight as he trudged through the hall. "You can tell only that you would probably like to drink more-"

"You're right! I would."

"Which you're not going to get."

Tori was so determined with herself on trying to escape Iron Bull's grasp, she hadn't realized the distance they covered. A few flights of stairs were the only thing that separated her from her bedroom. And further away from the party and the fun she had been having.

"Kadan, enough," Bull warned, feeling Tori's body shift unexpectedly on his shoulder. It was partly his fault for her condition, having encouraged her to try a different variety of drinks and not watching as to what she was mixing. But a firm slap to her clothed rear was enough to remind her that there was a boss she had to listen to. And it wasn't the ale.

Grumbling and biting at her lip, Tori dropped her head, letting it hang down as she watched the floor, recognizing the flooring to her bedroom. "Ya' know," she grumbled, her fingers absent-mindedly playing with the leather harness crossing Bull's back, "I could kill you right now. Easily."

"I'm sure you could, Kadan" he replied, but there was an obvious amount of mirth and disbelief mixed in his voice that had Tori glaring, even before she was tossed into her bed. 

"I could! A bolt of lightning to the center of your chest! And not a pleasurable amount."

"And if you did kill me, who's going to get you out of your clothes?" Iron Bull asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he stared down at Tori. "Or can you manage?"

Tori's glare turned from annoyed to defiant at Bull, not wanting to admit defeat. But every attempt to free her arms or legs from the fabric was futile, and she was in the verge of casting enough lightning magic to burn it off when Bull stopped her. 

His hands wrapped around her arms, teasing her freedom from her tunic. He waited for her to settle, to relax her expression and her mind from the drunken frenzy it was in. While a part of him did enjoy seeing the spitfire in her that had been squelched when they first met, Bull knew that it would embarrass the sober Tori in the morning if he let her get too out of hand. 

The clothes slid quickly off of her with the practice ease of removing her delicate clothes, and Iron Bull slid a simple sheer nightgown on to her before pulling a heavy blanket up and over her. "Sleep," he commanded with a sly grin, pushing some of the hair that had fallen from her braid behind her ear. "Unless you want to meet with the Empress tomorrow looking like you fought a dragon."

"You'd like that," she mumbled, but Tori wouldn't have admitted to him that she did feel the ache of sleep behind her eyes. "You should sleep, too, if that's your reason."

Bull couldn't help but chuckle as he took a step away from you. "Unlike you, Kadan," he replied, making his way to the stairs that led out of the bedroom, "I can hold my drink. Besides, I have a bet with Krem that I can drink Varric under the table, and there's some money I need to win."


End file.
